


One by One

by -catalyst (xo_thefirst)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Could Be Canon, Cute, Dinosaurs, Getting Together, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23372749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xo_thefirst/pseuds/-catalyst
Summary: All Kei can think about are dinosaurs and Kageyama Tobio.Not to mention, Yamaguchi Tadashi is a little shit.
Relationships: Kageyama Tobio/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 25
Kudos: 444





	One by One

**Author's Note:**

> tsukikage is taking over my life.

A stegosaurus sits on top of Kei’s desk Monday morning. It’s the smallest thing, barely five centimeters in size, but it sticks out against the plain beige color of his desk. It’s almost intimidating in its own way, as if it’s attempting to mock him, but Kei knows that can’t be the case. Dinosaurs wouldn’t torture him in such a weak way.

“Isn’t that a stegosaurus, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi asks. He leans down next to him in an attempt to see it closer, but he doesn’t touch it yet. “What’s it doing here?”

Kei glances around the classroom, a casual “I have no idea” slipping past his lips, and checks to see if any of their classmates are glancing in their direction. Nobody is, and he purses his lips at the revelation. If nobody is checking for his—their—reaction, then that means none of them put this little creature on his desk. “Did you put it there?” he asks next, looking back to his friend as the other sits down in the desk in front of him.

Yamaguchi shakes his head, reaching out to gently poke the stegosaurus’ head. “Nope. I would’ve just given it to you this morning when I first saw you.” He’s right. He knows not to give him anything like this in public, only because it’ll embarrass him and he’ll have to think up of some nice words to show his, possibly genuine, gratitude. “It’s sort of cute, though,” he continues on, gently petting it on the head. “It looks like it’s yawning.”

The mouth of the dinosaur is partially open, as if it’s in mid-roar, but Kei can accept the fact that it looks like it’s yawning. She must be tired from her little adventure to their classroom. He hums in lieu of actually answering his friend, and he carefully sits down on his chair before setting his bag down on the floor. He picks the little dinosaur up next, examining its body closely, and he instantly names her Little Plum.

“Are you going to keep it?” Yamaguchi asks. He turns around to take out his notebooks and Kei wonders if that’s even an actual, appropriate question to ask him. “I know you’re going to keep it. Just humor me for the morning.”

Kei stares at his friend, no emotion on his face whatsoever. “If you left her on my desk, I’m going to scream.”

“We all know you’re not going to scream,” Yamaguchi waves off, but then he’s turning around and giving him a cheeky smile. “I would’ve had no time to set her down before we met up this morning to walk to school. I can’t believe you gave her a gender. What’s her name?”

Heat trickles it’s way from his ears to his spine and Kei refuses to acknowledge he’s already becoming embarrassed about this. “Shut it, Yamaguchi,” he mutters instead. He can feel the rough texture of Little Plum against his fingers and he looks back down at it to stare at the finer details.

She’s a beautiful one and Kei is enamored.

“Come on, Kageyama! We’re going to be late!”

Kei’s peaceful morning shatters immediately. He closes his hand on instinct, protecting his little friend, and he glances to the doorway to see Hinata running past the classroom, presumably to chase after Kageyama. He doesn’t need either one of them knowing he loves dinosaurs. It’s enough that only Yamaguchi knows outside of his immediate family.

“They’re such a handful,” Yamaguchi murmurs, sighing, as he leans over onto his desk. “How did we survive two years alongside them?”

“I have no idea,” Kei drawls, already leaning on his open free palm as he watches both Kageyama and Hinata run past their room again, presumably to actually go to class. He raises an eyebrow when Kageyama glances at him for that split second. “Good luck, captain,” he adds on, listening as Yamaguchi groans in response.

He carefully puts Little Plum in a side pocket of his bag when he’s sure the other two won’t be running around or inside his classroom anytime soon.

Having Yamaguchi as captain is unexpected but entirely welcomed. It’s refreshing to see him take on his new role with confidence. He’s guiding the first years into welcoming the new environment and he’s encouraging the second years with their gradual progression of skills. It makes a little flame of pride light up in Kei’s chest when he realizes he’s seen his best friend grow from timid and shy to _this_. He was there for it all and he’s pleased he was able to step in that one day those bullies were tormenting him. Though, he also _did_ call Yamaguchi pathetic. It was a give-or-take situation.

“We’re going to start a practice game soon,” Kageyama calls out. It catches Kei’s attention and he waits while the other walks up to him after directing the second years where to go. He glances down once at Kei’s hands before looking back up to him. “Are you going to tape your fingers?”

Kei doesn’t need to glance at his own hands to know the callouses are hardening even more again. “I can only assume that means we’re on opposing teams again,” he comments in return, watching as Kageyama gives him a simple nod. “I don’t think you’re going to break me, king,” he answers. It’s satisfying to see a scowl form on Kageyama’s lips before it goes away just as quickly. He glances down at his hands again and Kei wishes he would stop that.

“Don’t complain if something happens,” Kageyama warns. There’s a challenge in his eyes and Kei wants to wipe it out.

“As if.”

This time, Kei’s finger doesn’t dislocate like it did weeks before. It stays in place, but it’s bruising. It’s bright red and turning purple and Kei can’t help rubbing his fingers together to try to get it to stop stinging so much. It’s not any different than any other time, but Kageyama keeps glancing at him and Kei makes sure to frown at him the next time they make eye contact.

“I don’t need your majesty watching me during practice all the time,” Kei mutters out. They’re both standing off to the side, taking a break, and he frowns when Kageyama glances at him again. He’d rub lotion into his hands to help soothe it, _to get the king to stop staring at him_ , but he only does that when they’ve finished and are back in the club room about to head home.

“And I keep telling you, you need to take great care of your hands,” Kageyama fires back. He takes another large gulp of water from his bottle and Kei scowls when the other immediately looks back at him again. “You’re a blocker. Your hands are increasingly valuable.”

Kei rolls his eyes, “I know that. Stop worrying about it.”

“I’m not worrying about it.”

“You are,” Kei retorts, taking the moment to unclench his hands and stretch out his fingers. They’re sore, but the stretch feels real nice. “Stop looking at them!”

There’s a moment where they glare at each other. They stay still, unnervingly quiet, and Kei is pretty sure it’s making all the first years around them nervous. They’re already nervous around the _great Kageyama Tobio_ , but being in his presence and around _him_ no less is probably making it worse for them.

“Now, now,” Yamaguchi finally says, walking over and stepping between them. He claps a hand on both of their shoulders and Kei resists the urge to smack it away from him. Yamaguchi is his best friend. He deserves more than that. “Let’s finish this last set and call it a day?”

Kei huffs as he turns away, ready to walk over to his side of the court, but then he’s stopped by a tug on his wrist. “What—” he begins to ask, but then he stops himself when he realizes it’s Kageyama tugging on his arm. He frowns, “What is it, king? Let’s finish this already.”

The moment Kageyama lifts up the tape in his hand is the moment Kei admits defeat. “If you won’t wrap them, then I will,” he mumbles. He pulls him back off to the side and Kei can’t help looking at Yamaguchi who has a shit-eating grin on his face.

Kei refuses to admit he stays still, completely and absolutely stationary, as he lets Kageyama carefully wrap his fingers for him. He refuses to admit he makes sure Kageyama sees him rubbing lotion into his hands afterwards in the changing room, too.

When he sees Yamaguchi finally appear in the changing room after practice, Kei raises a hand to stop him from even speaking to him. “We will not speak of this,” Kei instructs, ignoring the way Yamaguchi only hums happily the entire time they’re together on the way home.

It’s not the first time something like this has happened. It’s probably the third or fourth, if Kei thinks about it, because the first time this happened occurred during the first month of their second year. Kei had injured his hand during a practice match with Date Tech and he was subjected to a softly murmured lecture—rant—by Kageyama about how their hands are important as volleyball players and to be the best, they have to take great care of them.

It was surprising at first, because he hadn’t ever really done it before, but then Kei remembers the second time it happened during an official match later during the year and he was pulled aside by Kageyama himself to inspect his hands. He taped them up himself, but he couldn’t forget the way Kageyama actually appeared _concerned_ over such a thing.

Since then, Kei’s noticed Kageyama’s heightened presence around him. He can feel when Kageyama is staring and _why_ he’s staring. He can see when Kageyama takes care of his own hands and files his nails appropriately so no further damage can be done. He can feel himself itching when he sees Kageyama accidentally injure his hand while blocking against a spike right next to him, resulting in him taping up his own finger even though all he did was grumble at how it feels horrible against his skin but it’s needed to protect it further.

Kei notices all these things and it’s annoying the hell out of him. He doesn’t even understand why it’s happening. All he remembers are these _little moments_ and when another one gets added, he just wants to scream his frustration out into the world.

Kageyama’s hands are surprisingly smooth. It should be illegal.

He groans as he throws himself on his bed, stuffing his face into his pillow and wincing when all it does is push his glasses further into his head. “Little Plum,” he calls out, turning his head to look at his new friend on the shelf next to Teru, the Tyrannosaurus rex his older brother had gotten him for his birthday years ago. “What’s going on?”

She doesn’t respond, but Kei wishes she would.

The first time Kei truly notices Kageyama as more than a teammate was at the end of their first year, where he and the setter managed to compromise and read each other easily on the court during games. The second time Kei truly notices Kageyama as _more than a friend_ happened to be at the end of their second year. It wasn’t even anything out of the ordinary.

Kei had been helping Kageyama study for finals, like he had been the entire year for every other exam, but somehow they had moved their study sessions from the club room after practice to their houses in the evenings when they were full in their stomachs and had all night to focus on schoolwork. It wasn’t anything new to them. But to Kei, it was new when he started to notice the way Kageyama’s eyebrows furrowed together in a different way than when they were on the court. It was new when he started to see the genuine relief and gratitude pouring out of Kageyama’s eyes when he looked up at him after everything was done and it was all correct. It was new when Kei felt the sudden need to brush back Kageyama’s bangs when they kept falling in front of his eyes and the setter kept trying to shake it out of his way.

It was all new and Kei had no idea what to make of it. He’d never felt that sudden urge before and despite not ever verbalizing these strange revelations to Yamaguchi, he knew that his best friend knew something was going on with him. Yamaguchi had always said he was easy to read, but Kei never took it to heart until… _this_ started happening.

And, really, Kei knew it was getting worse when he actually _waited_ for the king to meet him outside the club room. The final exam results were being posted and he already knew he did well on his tests. Instead, he was concerned about Kageyama and _his_ grades. He couldn’t sit still knowing they had studied all night for the past week to make sure he actually knew the material. Kageyama just _had_ to pass, if not for his weird competition against Hinata and Yamaguchi and _their_ study sessions.

But then he saw Kageyama finally walking towards him, with a huge lopsided smile on his lips, and Kei couldn’t believe the way his heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. Kageyama looked so nice, _so happy_ , and Kei felt his chest swell with pride at knowing _he_ was part of the reason the setter looked like that.

He wanted to take a step closer when Kageyama stopped in front of him, to somehow close the distance and meet the setter halfway, but he stopped himself before he could even hesitate in that one step. Instead, all he could do was give him a small smile back, instantly understanding what the brightest smile on his face meant, and opened the club room door for him.

“Congrats, king,” he’d said, smiling wider when he heard Kageyama scoff at the words, but then the smile easily returned. “Let’s get to practice.”

It’s too early in the day for Yamaguchi to be re-telling some story that happened over the weekend. Classes have come and gone in a hazy blur and Kei resists the urge to groan when he hears Yachi’s name escape Yamaguchi’s mouth for the nth time that day. If his best friend isn’t talking about something volleyball-related, then it’s about their ‘cute manager,’ as he so calls her. It’s getting tiring, hearing about it every single day.

“Yamaguchi,” Kei finally gets out, finding a well-timed pause to get his one word across. He relishes in the moment of silence it brings him, with his best friend staring at him curiously, probably waiting for a question to be asked, but Kei has no such thing. All he wants is peace and quiet and he almost screams when he hears the bell ring and Hinata is screaming—

“Hey, captain! Let’s eat lunch together!”

Kei doesn’t even know why they had a free period. He’s pretty sure their teacher is here, somewhere on school grounds, but he guesses it’s also a blessing in disguise. He doesn’t have to think anymore than he has been recently and all he has to do is hum at the right times to keep Yamaguchi talking about volleyball and Yachi. If he’s talking about them, then he’s not talking about Kageyama and Kei is tired of thinking of Kageyama.

Except, now he’s sitting right beside him for lunch on the rooftop because Hinata wanted _a change of location_. He groans internally when he can feel Kageyama’s body heat bleeding through his knee where they’re barely touching. It’s such a minimal amount of space. Kei hates it.

“And then—”

Hinata goes off on another story, something about Kenma, and Kei would pay attention, but he seriously can’t. He’s too conscious of Kageyama’s presence next to him, eating his food like it’s his only mission in life, and Kei can’t stop himself from glancing over every few minutes to see the way the setter’s cheeks puff up when he eats. He looks up every now and then to pay attention to Hinata’s story and his eyes shine when he recognizes the people Hinata mentions or the details that’s being told.

When it comes to a point where their knees accidentally bump together again, Kei goes back to eating his food and staring down at his lap. He glances up a few times to see Yamaguchi staring at Yachi as she and Hinata laugh and he almost startles when he sees a bun being held out to him from his peripheral.

“Do you want a bite?” Kageyama asks. His eyes are wide and imploring and Kei wants to melt into them. They’re always so expressive. “You aren’t eating a lot,” he adds on, as an explanation.

Kei takes a moment to look down at his own food before he realizes the other is right. He’s barely finished half of it while the rest of them are almost done. “No,” he simply says, glancing up to see Kageyama _pout_ of all things. “I’m fine,” he quickly adds afterwards. He quickly picks up another bite of his food to prove his point and he makes sure Kageyama doesn’t look so put out before looking to the rest of their friends.

For some, unknown, _goddamn_ reason, Yamaguchi catches their exchange and Kei has to focus on _Hinata_ of all things to avoid the mischievous glance of his best friend and the heat crawling up his neck from his knee.

When Kei finally makes it to the changing room after practice, he almost chokes when he sees unblemished skin in front of him. It shouldn’t make any difference because they change in here all the time, but he usually has time to brace himself for a shirtless Kageyama whenever the situation calls for it. He expected the other to be gone already, trailing out of the gym when Yamaguchi told him he could leave for the day since they have an added practice in the morning, but there Kageyama is, searching his locker for something while he’s already holding onto the shirt he needs to put on.

“King,” he calls out, wincing when he realizes it sounds like he whispered it instead. “What are you still doing here?”

Kageyama jumps at the sound of his voice. He turns around with eyes wide, but then the surprise melts away into—what Kei assumes is—annoyance. He turns back into his locker before pulling on his school shirt onto his shoulders. “I think I lost something,” he mumbles. Kei has to strain to hear him, because there’s no way he’s stepping further into this room with Kageyama still practically shirtless. “But maybe I left it in the school.” When he finally starts buttoning up his shirt, Kei steps inside. He could offer to help find it, but he really doesn’t want to.

“How can you _think_ you lost something,” Kei voices instead, glancing at his teammate when he turns around to scowl at him. “It’s either you did or you didn’t.”

“Because I can’t remember where I put it,” Kageyama answers, slamming his locker shut. He picks up his bag after. “I’m going ahead. I’m going to check my locker in the school.”

Kei raises an eyebrow at him. “Okay?” He doesn’t understand why he’s telling him this. “You don’t have to give me a detailed explanation.” He takes off his glasses and pulls off his own shirt, just so he doesn’t have to see Kageyama’s annoyed expression.

“Whatever, Stingy-shima. See you.”

The door closes before Kei can even see if Kageyama did anything other than scowl at him. He doubts it, but he would be surprised if he did. He sighs as he opens his locker to retrieve his school shirt, but he stops short when he realizes there’s a little dinosaur figure sitting on top of it. He puts on his glasses to make sure he actually sees a small triceratops figurine there and he feels himself freeze when, in fact, there is.

“What,” he breathes, reaching out to gingerly pick it up. Its color is vibrant and its horns are sharp. It looks like it’s made from the same maker who created Little Plum and Kei is dumbfounded as to why it’s in here. Nobody goes into the volleyball club room unless they’re a member and he feels stupid when he glances around him to make sure nobody else is in there with him. “What are you doing here?” he asks the little guy, putting him on a nearby shelf where he won’t fall, before pulling on his school shirt.

He keeps staring at him, from its scales to its closed mouth, and it’s such a contrast to the stegosaurus he received the other week. He thought it was a one-time fluke, but it can’t be with this second one. He slams his locker door shut in fright when he hears the club room door open. He doesn’t know why, since it doesn’t hide the triceratops from _anyone_ , but then he breathes easier when he realizes it’s only Yamaguchi.

“Why are you so jumpy?” his best friend asks. He sounds tired. “You’re _never_ jumpy.”

The way he speaks makes Kei stare at him in concern. “Practice wasn’t that difficult,” he mentions, watching as Yamaguchi comes up beside him and simply takes off his shirt. He’s quiet the entire time and maybe he’s a little more than concerned about it. “What’s bothering—” but he doesn’t get his question out in time. The moment Yamaguchi looks over to him to listen to his question is the moment Yamaguchi cuts him off from said question.

“Is that a triceratops?!” The concern flies out the window as Yamaguchi pushes him away to get to the little figurine. “It’s so cool-looking! Where did you find it?”

Kei realizes there’s no way he’s getting out of this. “It was in my locker right here,” he ends up saying, pointing to his now closed locker door. “I just found him.”

“It’s a guy?” Yamaguchi asks, gently cradling it in his hands. “He’s so cool.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Kei says without thinking. He’s glad it’s only him and Yamaguchi in the room right now. “They could fight a T-rex and come out alive.”

There’s a moment of silence where they stare at the little guy. His best friend stares at it from all possible angles and if there’s one person Kei can trust to treat these dinosaurs with respect, it’s Yamaguchi. “But say, Tsukki,” he suddenly says, tilting his head to the side when he looks up at him. “Why was it in your locker?” He carefully puts the dinosaur back on the shelf so he can put on his shirt again and Kei decides his new dinosaur’s name is Little Thunder.

“I have no idea,” Kei answers. He reaches out to gently pet it on the back. “But it can’t be a coincidence. That’s two now, and one was specifically in here. It has to be meant for me.”

“You can’t fight that logic,” Yamaguchi agrees. He shuts his locker and puts his hand on it, turning to stare at him and the dinosaur. “But that means whoever is leaving you these gifts is in the volleyball club. There can be no other explanation for it.”

“Unless somebody is making someone _within_ the team leave these dinosaurs for me,” Kei rebuts. He huffs a quiet laugh when realization dawns on his friend.

“Okay,” Yamaguchi relents, grabbing his bag and slinging it onto his shoulder. “There can be _one_ other explanation for it.”

Kei carefully grabs Little Thunder before he grabs his school bag. He keeps him cradled in his hand as they make their way out and Yamaguchi locks the door.

“Now, I’m curious, though,” his best friend murmurs. “You got two new friends and no one to thank because of it.”

Kei scoffs. “Like I’d thank whoever is giving me them.” He opens his hand out again to stare at the triceratops, sees the indents the horns left in his fingers. “They left these creatures to fend for themselves.” He knows he sounds ridiculous, but they deserve more than that. He hopes he can deliver.

Suddenly, someone breezes past them at a brisk jog. When Kei looks up, it’s to see Kageyama running further ahead of them.

“See you tomorrow, Kageyama!” Yamaguchi calls out. He waves but Kei makes sure to close his hand around the triceratops when Kageyama stops to look back at them, curiosity flowing off of him in waves. He only throws a hand up in response as a farewell, and then he’s back to running again. “So much stamina. Why. How,” he whines.

Kei doesn’t know how to respond to that. He doesn’t quite understand it either. He gets absolutely _exhausted_ every time he attempts to practice with Hinata and Kageyama, but if it’s volleyball, they make everything look easy. They make _running laps_ look easy and Kei just wants to trip them every time they circle around him again. He doesn’t even realize he hasn’t been paying attention to the small comments Yamaguchi is making until his best friend elbows him in the ribs, causing him to grunt from the force of it.

“Stop staring after Kageyama and listen to me,” he whines.

Nobody will believe him when Kei shoves him away, giving him a triumphant smile when Yamaguchi just whines at the rough treatment.

This time, lunch involves sitting in the cafeteria. The only difference is Kageyama is sitting across from him and, typically, Kei wouldn’t mind. He doesn’t care where anyone sits as long as he can have a peaceful meal. He doesn’t even think about how he misses Kageyama’s warmth next to him, instead dealing with Yamaguchi and his wayward elbow every time he animates some story that apparently _needs_ animating.

It isn’t all that bad, truly, until Kei starts to feel something nudge against his stretched out leg. He normally doesn’t sit like this, with a leg stretched out off to the side, but he enjoys the extra space he gets when he sits at the side of the table away from the head. The empty space next to him is a welcomed change, but when he glances down to see what’s nudging him, he’s surprised to find it’s Kageyama’s leg trying to follow after his own.

He looks across the table to see the setter staring down at his food, eating it quietly, and Kei experiments with the situation. He puts his leg back in front of him, to see what happens next, and his breath hitches when he feels Kageyama’s leg gently resting against his own. This is a different kind of warmth and Kei doesn’t move an inch as he continues his lunch.

If he and Kageyama share a few more secret glances at each other, well, it’s nobody else’s business but their own.

The first years continue to do solo and group practices. They all work on their serves or their sets and Kei watches them from the side. He’s taking a much needed break, sitting on the floor and leaning back against the wall, and he tries not to pay too much attention to Yamaguchi and Yachi standing next to him, discussing about something else related to the sport they’ve all devoted so much time to. Instead, he focuses his gaze on Kageyama across the court.

The king is currently helping the first and second year setters. With what, Kei has no idea, but all he can see is how Kageyama’s expression barely changes at all. His hands move as he reaches out to help fix the other setters’ postures and positions, but there’s barely any indication he’s happy or annoyed with the improvement or lack thereof with them.

It’s interesting, to say the least, because when Kei glances over to the other side of the court where Hinata is helping a different group of players, he’s all enthusiastic smiles and loud encouragements. They’re polar opposites but also not, and Kei finds himself staring at Kageyama again before he can help himself.

It’s hard not to notice him, after these past couple of years. He’s seen the way Kageyama has changed and developed into the man he is now and Kei feels a strange sense of _something_ blooming in his chest at the thought. Kageyama used to have such a hard time communicating but here he is, teaching those younger than him on how to improve their skills and how to bring about new ones without pushing themselves too hard. This time, he doesn’t even look away when Kageyama glances around the gym and his gaze falls on him.

There’s a moment where they stare at each other, where Kageyama falls silent for a moment, his mouth stilling in its movements, but then he’s speaking again and he’s looking back to the first year next to him. Kei doesn’t know what to think about that. In fact, he knows what to _possibly_ think, but he chooses not to because thinking about anything about Kageyama outside of volleyball is absolutely forbidden. Well, in his book, anyways. His breath stutters to a stop when Kageyama looks at him again, but this time, there’s a little quirk of his lips, tilting up at the corner.

“This is painful,” Yamaguchi suddenly announces. It’s enough to have Kei jerk his attention away from the setter and he positively _growls_ when he stares up at his best friend next to him. “ _You’re_ painful.”

“It actually kind of is,” Yachi comments, unhelpfully. “You’re cute though, Tsukishima.”

Kei doesn’t want to be called cute. He still wants to be called cool.

“I couldn’t help but notice, sorry.”

It’s easy to forgive Yachi. She’s always so nice. His best friend, on the other hand, is not. “Shut up, Yamaguchi,” he grumbles. There’s no heat behind his words and they all know that. It’s so _annoying_. He doesn’t even realize his fingers have come together on his lap, playing with each other like when he’s thinking or nervous.

But of course, Yamaguchi keeps talking. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you have a crush before,” he says. “I’m only assuming you have a crush though because you only ever look for him and then stare as if you have nothing else to do in this world.”

Kei clenches his fingers together. Does he have a crush? He refuses to look up though. He doesn’t know what he’ll see if he does.

“That’s cute, though,” Yachi reiterates, sounding wistful. “I can see it. You and Kageyama have always had something going on between you two, so it makes sense if you have a crush on him.” Suddenly, she gasps and Kei immediately looks up at the sound. “Oh, he’s looking over here. Did I say it too loud?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Yamaguchi quietly says and Kei would smack him if he could. “You weren’t being loud at all.”

But all Kei can see are blue eyes. They’re staring at him from across the court and they’re the deepest blues he’s ever seen on a human being. They make him tune out everything else, only focusing on them and the person they belong to, and Kei feels like he’s running a marathon when he realizes Kageyama is making his way for him. He tries not to scramble up and out of the gym for fear of what’s going to happen next.

“Hey, Tsukishima,” Kageyama calls when he’s close enough. Yamaguchi and Yachi fall silent next to him and Kei wants to scream. The setter points a thumb over his shoulder towards the first and second years waiting for him. “Help me show them how it’s done.”

“Why don’t you ask Hinata to help?” he asks before he can think. He can barely think when it comes to him. “He’s better.”

“He’s busy,” Kageyama easily says. When they all look over to the other player, he is, in fact, busy. “And you’re just sitting there.”

Kei scowls at that, “You tired me out during practice with your continuous expectations, _king_. Get someone else to help—”

“Oh, Yachi,” Yamaguchi loudly says, causing the woman next to him to hum in response. “I need your help with something over there.” And before Kei can stop him, Yamaguchi is already guiding Yachi away to a random section of the gym. “Go help them, Tsukki. We need to make sure our dear underclassmen are ready for their practice match against Seijoh.”

Kei wants to throttle his best friend into the sun.

“See?” Kageyama voices. “You’re not busy.”

It takes all of Kei’s willpower to make the most annoyed- and obnoxious-sounding groan he can muster when he pulls himself to stand up. It takes less than that to level Kageyama with a glare. “You should be happy that I hate losing more than anything,” he mutters. He flexes his fingers out of habit and he doesn’t miss the way Kageyama immediately glances down at them when he does.

“I know,” Kageyama says in return. It shouldn’t make Kei feel embarrassed when he does. “Tape up your fingers.”

“Do you think we’re going to war or something?” Kei breathes in disbelief. He glances at the others waiting for them. “I don’t need to tape my fingers for _group practice_.” He flinches when a hand suddenly grabs one of his and it’s being held up between them, Kageyama staring at his palm and fingers up close. “King, what are you _doing?_ ”

“I’m inspecting,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, in which, it is.

Both of Kageyama’s hands are now holding one of his. His hands are soft and warm, cradling his like it’s precious, and Kei wants the heat creeping up his neck and into his cheeks to cease and desist. He lets go of his right hand after a few minutes before grabbing his left one and Kei wants to die with how close Kageyama is to him.

“They don’t look that bad,” Kageyama murmurs, glancing at him out of the corners of his eyes. “You’ve been moisturizing.”

Kei scoffs, “You’d be able to tell if I wasn’t.” He freezes after he says that. He’s looking at a point on the ground beyond the setter and he doesn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to admit he’s been taking great care of his hands because he _knows_ Kageyama will only nag him about it later. It’s better than suffering from needless pain during games, too.

But when he feels a gentle squeeze on his hand, enough to gain his attention again, he breathes out a soft sigh when all he sees is Kageyama’s small smile on his lips. “Good,” he murmurs, finally dropping his hand. They stand there for a few more minutes, simply staring at each other, but then they hear someone call out, “Watch out!” before Kei lifts up a hand and deflects a stray volleyball from hitting them in the heads.

“The setters are going to set some balls for us,” Kageyama suddenly says. He’s already walking away when Kei looks back at him, and he scowls at his retreating back. “We spike them and then we’ll take turns.”

“You _do_ realize I’m not a setter, right?”

“Yeah, but you’ve set before. That’s good enough.”

Kei doesn’t know where the standard for ‘good enough’ is, but he does recall Azumane telling him how he liked it when he tossed for him whenever it came to it. He shrugs the thought of that and Kageyama’s comment away.

“If you say so, king.”

Kei has come to the conclusion for the nth time that he prefers blocking over spiking. It requires less effort on his part and he doesn’t have to attempt to match his speed and height to be able to successfully hit a ball over the net. These new setters don’t understand it and he has to admit he breathes easier when it’s Kageyama’s turn to set for him.

Except Kageyama keeps attempting to set the ball higher for him each time it’s his turn. This effectively makes Kei attempt to keep up and, quite obviously, he can’t help but spin to glare at him after the fifth one. “You little _shit_ ,” he hisses out, still panting for air. All Kageyama does is smirk at him. “I was helping you out to help _them_ out. Why are you making me still fight for your tosses?”

“Because I know you can still fly.”

“No,” he grits out. Kageyama needs to stop talking like he knows every single thing in this world. It’s pissing him off even more. “I really _can’t_.”

“But you’re so cool!” a first year exclaims.

 _It’s not his fault_ , Kei repeatedly chants in his head. He turns to give the first year a poor attempt of a smile before he returns to glare at the third year setter. “You piss me off,” he hisses some more, glaring even harder when Kageyama’s smirk turns into an amusing half-smile.

“Weary-shima needs a break,” the setter announces to their small group.

Kei doesn’t hesitate attempting to throw a punch at the other, only to have Yamaguchi yelling at them to stop messing around.

“Honestly, it’s refreshing to see you so out of your element,” Yamaguchi muses later that night. He’s on the phone and Kei can’t be bothered to hold it up to his ear, so he leaves it on speaker mode on his desk as he continues to do his homework. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“I’m glad I could provide you with some entertainment,” Kei drawls out, barely paying attention to him.

“And here I thought you had a crush on Kuroo-san, but that wasn’t the case at all.”

Kei huffs, “Like I’d like that slob.”

“So, you _do_ like Kageyama,” Yamaguchi emphasizes. That’s such a leap, Kei has to pause on finishing the next equation.

“How did we go from Kuroo to Kageyama?” he pauses a second before he adds, “By the way, we are not speaking about any of this.”

There’s a small snort on the other end—or a cough? He doesn’t know, but he should really hang up before anything else is said. Then again, he reminds himself that Yamaguchi is his best friend. He really _shouldn’t_ hang up on him. “Yes, we are,” Yamaguchi fights back. He’s even using his captain voice. That’s annoying. “I want to talk about your feelings for once, Tsukki. Something is different with you when Kageyama is involved, and I want to know how you’re going to cope with it considering you have a hard time dealing with anything feelings-related.”

Before he can stop it, Kei groans. He slumps forward onto his desk and hides his face in his arms. “Why,” he whines, already knowing the answer.

“Because you actually _look_ happy when you stare at him. You two talk more than you did before and you _let_ him boss you around.”

“He’s a king,” Kei says, words futile.

“That doesn’t mean you have to obey him all the time.”

“I don’t.” When Kei finally picks his head up, he sees Little Plum, Little Thunder, and Teru all staring back at him. “Tell Yamaguchi he’s ridiculous,” he tells them.

“You did _not_ just tell your dinosaurs to tell me I’m ridiculous,” Yamaguchi deadpans. Kei wants to disappear. “ _You’re_ being ridiculous, Tsukki. Where’s Akiteru? He needs to knock some sense into you.”

“No, he doesn’t!” Kei immediately exclaims. He’s glad his brother is away for work right now. “What happens if I get another little dinosaur?”

There’s a pause. “Oh, I forgot about them,” Yamaguchi murmurs. His voice drifts further away and Kei frowns at his phone before his best friend is back at full force. “I don’t know. If you get another one, I guess we have to hunt down the person leaving them for you. I wouldn’t know where they’d leave it next though. They already left one on your desk and then in your club room locker.”

There isn’t anything else to say after that. Kei hasn’t forgotten about the little gifts he’s received, but he did forget that someone else had to get them for him after all. He hasn’t received another one in weeks, but he can only assume he may get another one, just because of how random it is. It’d be nice to get a third one to complete a set of three, to surround his larger T-rex one, but he can also live without that third.

“It’s cute how Kageyama tries and picks on you during practice,” Yamaguchi suddenly says. Kei groans in response. “It’s cute how you get all flustered and nervous around him, too.”

“I’m hanging up. Goodbye.”

“Tsukki—!”

It’s not exactly a revelation, but it’s also not on his list of things to do or experience during his third year of high school. He knew something shifted between him and Kageyama at the end of their second year. He just didn’t want to admit it was a crush or anything romantic, for any reason at all. Even so, he starts to understand why his gaze drifts over to their setter more often than not. He sees more of him than he’d care to admit but, to be fair, Kageyama Tobio is unfairly attractive.

And, to be fair, Yamaguchi Tadashi is a little shit.

“Wait for Kageyama, Tsukki,” his best friend had told him an hour ago. He was already walking away with Hinata and Yachi in tow, throwing a smile over his shoulder, and Kei had no choice but to follow his words. “He’s busy talking to an advisor in the teacher’s lounge.”

Kei had wanted to ask why _he_ was the one waiting for the king, but he also willingly followed his best friend’s words. So, he guesses he can’t really blame anyone for this except himself. He frowns as he stares out the hallway windows and towards the courtyard. His fingers have come together again, as they play with each other in front of him, and he listens for any signs of Kageyama leaving the room behind him anytime soon. Whatever they’re discussing in there, it must be important for it to last this long.

By the time he hears the door open and close, another thirty minutes have passed and he glances over his shoulder to see Kageyama standing there. Surprise paints his face in a pretty color, but Kei doesn’t appreciate it anymore before he’s turning around to walk down the hallway instead. He can hear the setter jog to catch up to him, and then they’re walking side by side.

“Why are you here?” Kageyama finally asks. It makes Kei scoff, because he has no idea either.

“Captain told me to wait for you here” is his answer anyways.

“Oh.”

Silence falls between them. It isn’t unusual—they both aren’t very talkative anyways—, but Kei is, once again, hyperaware of Kageyama’s presence next to him. It’s like that time on the roof when they all had lunch and Kei tries not to shiver when he feels Kageyama’s hand bump into his more than once.

“I got scouted” comes the very soft statement. It’s barely audible, almost a whisper, and Kei has to look at Kageyama to make sure he actually said something and he wasn’t imagining it. “A few teams have already requested me to join them.”

Something about the way he says it makes Kei stare at him longer than usual. “You should feel grateful, king,” he comments, watching for his reaction.

“I don’t think I’m going to university.”

There it is. It shouldn’t be as surprising as it sounds, but Kei still stares at him with wide eyes. It surprises him, because everyone who knows Kageyama knows he’s just _that good_. “It’s to be expected,” Kei murmurs quietly, still staring when Kageyama looks up at him surprised. “You were always going to play professionally. There was no doubt about that.”

Kageyama’s eyes are even prettier up close. They soften at his words and then he’s looking away then, his lips quivering. Kei’s noticed he does that when he really wants to smile, wide and unabashed, but it’s still foreign for him to do so. “They also said representatives from the Olympics have contacted them,” he murmurs quietly. _That’s_ enough reason for Kei to stop in his tracks, stare at the other like he discovered a new species of dinosaurs.

“Excuse me?” he asks, voice wavering, because _what_.

“I’m going to be joining their training camps when school is over,” Kageyama says, louder this time. “I think they want me to be in the Olympics volleyball team.”

Kei can only stare at the other. He doesn’t even know what to think or say. Kageyama stops a few steps in front of him, looking back at him, and Kei realizes that in itself is somewhat poetic. He hates himself. “You’re soaring higher than the rest,” he murmurs, watches as red infuses Kageyama’s cheeks. “Truly a king,” he adds on.

A small smile makes its way onto Kageyama’s lips at that and Kei doesn’t know when the condescending nickname became something else entirely for them. His mouth parts to say something, but all Kei wants to do is walk forward and pull him in for a hug.

“—scouted, too.”

“Wait,” Kei blurts out, realizing a moment too late Kageyama was still talking to him. “What was that?”

Kageyama scowls and that’s familiar ground. “ _I said_ ,” he emphasizes, before he’s turning to walk away again. “Takeda-sensei accidentally told me you got scouted, too.”

Kei has no choice but to follow after Kageyama, speeding up faster to be able to walk beside him, and then he’s looking over to see the small smile has fallen into a little smirk instead. “I told him to tell no one about that,” Kei comments.

“You should continue” is all Kageyama says, before he’s running ahead of him. “We’re already late for practice!”

Kei groans, immediately running after him. “If we’re lucky, practice is already over!”

An apatosaurus sits on top of the counter of Ukai’s shop. It’s facing his direction when he first steps in and Kei has no idea what to think when all his coach does is point to the little thing to make sure he sees it.

“For you,” he adds on, to make sure. He doesn’t touch it. Instead, he plucks the cigarette out of his mouth to blow the smoke away from them. “Take it before some other kid does.”

That makes Kei scowl, but he does as told. He swipes it up as Yamaguchi snickers next to him and he _knows_ something is going on when he looks to each one of them before leaving Yamaguchi to go find some strawberry-flavored snacks. He feels _stressed_.

“Oh, Tsukishima,” his coach calls again. Kei respects those older than him. It’s the only reason it makes him stop to turn around and look at the other. He’s doubly surprised to see him lift up a bag full of snacks, all of the packaging shaded pink. “These are for you, too. All paid for by an anonymous source.”

“Whoa,” Yamaguchi breathes, leaning on the counter to look at the bag more closely. “That’s impressive.”

Kei can’t help but stare at his best friend and then his coach, before he’s walking forward to grab the bag from him. He won’t let all these precious foods go to waste. “Something is going on,” he mutters, almost sneering when he sees Ukai’s amused smile and Yamaguchi’s mischievous one directed at him. “And I hate both of you for already knowing what it is and not telling me about it.”

“Now, now,” his coach _and_ best friend placate.

Kei immediately leaves the store without another word.

There’s a soft breeze today. It feels refreshing against his skin and Kei takes the time to lean back against the wall to take it all in. There are clouds in the sky, preventing the sun’s full attack, and it’s the first time he’s felt peace in a long time. Although, there’s Hinata’s constant chatter in the background, but he’s been able to ignore that for years. It’s a trade secret how at this point.

He can feel Kageyama’s knee pushing against his thigh. It’s not the most subtle of touches, but it’s a comfortable presence. It helps warm him when the breezes become too strong and Kei thinks he’s in over his head when he opens his eyes to briefly stare at him. Kageyama is staring at their friends and he’s invested in the current story. He always is.

“There’s no reason for us to sit this closely, you know,” he murmurs quietly. It isn’t enough to disturb Hinata and Yachi, but he can feel his best friend’s eyes on him. He waits as he sees Kageyama turn to stare at him, too. There’s so much space around them. Kei is tired of thinking about all of this.

“I like sitting this closely.”

It almost sounds like a matter-of-fact and, well, Kei can’t argue with that. He closes his eyes again, tries not to think of how he stayed up past his usual time the night before, snacking and doing homework and talking to his new dinosaur Little Toe along with Little Plum, Little Thunder, and Teru. He tries to ignore the fleeting memories of when Akiteru called him, wondering how he’s doing, and Kei couldn’t help but show his big brother his new little friends.

He doesn’t even know how long they stay up on the rooftop during lunch, only that he wakes up when he feels Kageyama shift against him before standing. He takes his offered hand without a second thought and refuses to acknowledge that they continue to hold hands until they make it to the door to return to school.

The practice game against Seijoh goes as expected. It goes on for three sets before they ultimately lose against them and he gets to see Kageyama and Kindaichi argue with each other the entire time after the games end. They play another set of two, and they still lose. Kei can’t help but look to Kunimi for help. He looks as tired as he feels and he always felt like he’d get along with him well.

“I can’t stop those two, no matter how hard I try,” Kunimi says. It’s enough for Kei to groan. “Kindaichi has always been trying to reach Kageyama’s level.”

Kei doesn’t need a prolonged conversation. He wants a shower and to get into bed.

“Okay,” Kunimi suddenly says, loudly, because he doesn’t ever like shouting. “Time to clean up since Kindaichi is too busy squabbling over there.”

“I’m not squabbling!”

At that, Kei snickers. He watches as all the underclassmen start moving around to clean up the gym and then all of them are filing out. Half of them go home, but the other half want food and Kei has to agree that he’s in the half that wants food. What he doesn’t agree on is Kageyama walking beside him again because, apparently, that’s his favorite place to be lately. They’re even walking with Kunimi and Kindaichi and Kei throws a furtive glance in his best friend’s direction in front of them. But, of course, said best friend isn’t even looking at him. He’s obviously ignoring him and Kei jumps when he feels Kageyama’s hand brush against his own.

If he could think clearly, Kei would appreciate the fact that Kageyama had actually made up with his old friends from middle school. It’s like none of that _King of the Court_ thing ever happened but, if he’s being honest, he can’t think clearly, especially when Kageyama’s pinky finger links with his own. He wants to look down in shock, or pull away at least, but it makes him warm on a completely different level and he feels… different.

It’s strange to feel Kageyama’s emotions through this one gesture. He can feel it when Kageyama starts arguing with Kindaichi, or when he calms as he talks to Kunimi. He’s like an open book when he gets past his rocky exterior and Kei can’t help but gently squeeze his pinky finger against his. The tips of Kageyama’s ears are pink and Kei assumes his is the same as he resolutely looks away from the trio next to him.

“Oh, good! The restaurant is still open!” Yamaguchi exclaims. When he turns back to look for them, Kei avoids his best friend’s gaze. “I’ll get us tables.”

Before anything else can happen, he and Kageyama are letting go of each other the moment Hinata turns back around to tell them to hurry up. Kei is sure his entire face is red and he hates that Kageyama’s ears are the only thing that’s pink. Nobody is asking them if they’re okay and Kei finds relief when he’s sitting at a table with Yachi and Hinata instead, finally away from his best friend and Kageyama.

“No, I want to talk with my new friends. Go sit over there with Tsukki.”

Has Kei mentioned he hates Yamaguchi Tadashi?

The only empty seat is right next to him and Kei wants to throttle himself into the earth with how Kageyama silently takes it. The only time he opens his mouth is when Hinata provokes him and it becomes easier after that. Their bickering is welcomed white noise, but then Kageyama shifts his leg closer and Kei almost chokes at the move.

Yachi is staring at him with concern all over her face, but he waves her off as he takes a large gulp of his water instead. Kageyama’s entire body is like a furnace. Kei will melt into the earth if he keeps this up.

“Oh, Kageyama,” Hinata says in-between bites. “Did you already give away all those presents you bought over the summer? I haven’t seen any since then.”

This time, Kei really does choke. He feels like he’s attempting to cough up his lung while Yachi panics and gets him more water. She even attempts to pat his back and rub it and Kei can’t even muster in the strength to glare at Hinata for causing his untimely death. “What presents?” he attempts to breathe out, but his voice shifts all over the place.

“Yeah—”

“Oh,” Hinata pipes up, taking a quick sip of his water, like Kei wasn’t just dying in front of him. “Kageyama bought these little dinosaur figurines when he went to a museum over the summer with his sister. It was supposed to be some type of bonding trip, but Kageyama kept telling me how his sister kept embarrassing him every chance she could get.”

“No, I didn’t!” Kageyama suddenly blurts out. It’s enough for Kei to stop breathing.

“It’s true, though!” Hinata argues back. “You should’ve seen the way he was actually messaging me for once. I haven’t seen him talk that much since we became friends!”

Out of instinct, Kei looks over to Yamaguchi across the restaurant. He doesn’t know what his expression says, but he hopes it comes across as ‘I will murder you’ when Yamaguchi finally turns to face him. Now, he knows why everything feels so off. The damn bastard told Kageyama about his fascination with dinosaurs. Wait.

“Anyways, did you give them all away already?” Hinata continues on. It’s amazing how silence doesn’t deter him at all.

Kei looks to Kageyama with wide eyes, feels the way his thigh is pressed up against his own, and he thinks back to when Kageyama thought he lost one of the little dinosaurs in the club room. “You left the triceratops in my club room locker,” he comments quietly, watching as pink infuses the tips of the setter’s ear again. “You didn’t lose it.”

Kageyama actually has the _audacity_ to pout. “I forgot I left it in there after everyone already left for practice.”

“Oh,” Hinata breathes, looking between them with wide eyes. “The gifts were for Tsukishima.”

“Hinata, shh,” Yachi says quietly and, really, she’s an angel. Yamaguchi doesn’t deserve her.

“The stegosaurus,” Kei continues on, watches as Kageyama nods, “And the apatosaurus.” Another nod. “The strawberry snacks?”

Kageyama only nods in response. He doesn’t look at anything else other than his food and Kei feels the need to be away from everyone else. He glances at their friends, back to Kageyama’s mostly eaten food, before looking to his own. “I’ll be right back,” he announces, tugging on Kageyama’s wrist. “Come on. Let’s go outside for a few minutes.” It’s surprising how Kageyama follows easily after him. They ignore Yamaguchi’s pleased smile when they walk past him to make it outside.

But when they stop, and Kei turns to face Kageyama, he’s taken aback by how the other is resolutely staring at him like he’s another challenge to face. It’s like he’s something else to figure out and conquer and Kei feels like melting into the ground. “Why did you do all that?” he ends up asking, staring, as Kageyama makes sure to keep their distance from each other.

“Yamaguchi said you love dinosaurs,” Kageyama answers quietly.

“Okay,” Kei says, “Fair. But _why?_ ”

The way Kageyama shrugs makes Kei want to throttle him. He’s getting sick from this rollercoaster of emotions. “You’re,” he starts off, looking away at the ground, before staring at him head-on. Kageyama’s eyes practically glow in the moonlight. “You always call me ‘king’ and I realized I didn’t hate it anymore if you’re the one calling me that.”

Kei wouldn’t have thought that’s the reason. “I’ve been calling you ‘king’ since our first year at Karasuno.”

“I discovered my feelings at the end of the first year,” Kageyama explains quietly.

Now _that_ throws Kei off. “You’ve liked me for _more than a year?_ ” He watches as Kageyama nods, still keeping his distance, still staring him in the eye to show he’s serious. But he knows Kageyama, he wouldn’t lie or joke about any of this. Kageyama is only _ever_ serious when it comes to what he feels.

“I wasn’t sure how to… do all this stuff, so when I asked Yamaguchi for help, he said to give you little gifts of what you liked.”

Yamaguchi, the scheming bastard.

“I think you liked it, though? Yamaguchi said you didn’t throw any of the little dinosaurs away. He said he thinks you even named each one.”

There’s something in Kageyama’s eyes that Kei can’t explain. He’s staring at him like he’s trying to find the answer and, oh, Kei guesses he should give him one. “I didn’t throw any of them away,” he says quietly, watches as Kageyama’s eyes shine brighter at his words. “I did name them, too,” because he deserves that answer. “I won’t tell you their names, though,” because he’s a jerk.

The way Kageyama laughs sounds like the tension in the air is disappearing. It sounds light, like all he knows how to do is laugh and be happy, and Kei feels himself relaxing at the sight and sound of it. “Okay,” he eventually says, a small smile lingering on his lips. Kei wonders when he became so good at smiling. “But I’ll ask you again later.”

Kei wants to say so many things, but all he ends up blurting out is “You look pretty when you smile.” This time, he’s fascinated when he sees the pink in Kageyama’s ears pour into his cheeks too.

“Thank you,” Kageyama breathes, because he doesn’t ever know how to deal with compliments. He’s still so far away from him.

Kei feels ridiculous.

“Come here.”

When Kageyama takes those few steps towards him and falls into his arms, Kei feels like something has finally slid into place, rocky and smooth all at once. He resolutely ignores Yamaguchi for the rest of the night. He can forgive Hinata and Yachi though.

Honestly, Kei isn’t even sure if he has a boyfriend. He’s not very good at this stuff either. They don’t change who they walk to school with, or who they hang out with between classes and practices, but Kei knows there’s another new shift between them. He can feel Kageyama closing in on him in the hallways between classes, both of them brushing each other’s shoulders as they pass to feel the other’s presence in some way. He can feel the unnecessary stares during breaks in practice, once Kageyama has finished talking and arguing with Hinata and the others.

He _feels_ it in the way they walk together to grab food after practice, where Hinata, Yamaguchi, and Yachi are walking in front of them and talking, but Kageyama keeps knocking his hand against his so Kei has no choice but to reach out and grab it before bruises form. When he does this, it makes Kageyama happy. His ears turn pink and his lips quiver like he wants to smile. It makes Kei want to hug him again, longer this time, but he doesn’t. He only tugs Kageyama closer by the hand, making them bump shoulders, and then they’re arguing because “what the hell was that for?”

“I’m a simple peasant, king. You can’t assume that I’m the cause of every inconvenience.”

“ _You’re_ the one who tugged _me!_ ”

Their hands are still linked together, despite their arguing, and Kei happily ignores their friends’ presence to keep his attention on Kageyama the entire time they’re together.

Surprises are a fact of life and Kei is still trying to get used to it. He learns new things about Kageyama every day, but it still surprises him how quiet the setter’s house is. His older sister is barely home because of university and work and he barely ever talks about his parents, but it still surprises him. They barely do homework here, because of how eerily still and quiet it is, but Kei really doesn’t want to bother with his older brother visiting for the day.

“Tsukishima,” Kageyama calls. It feels like it echoes in the house even though he’s in the kitchen and Kei is sitting on the living room floor. “Do you want some water?”

Kei glances at his notebook on the table, before looking over towards the kitchen where he can hear the other grabbing glasses from the cabinet. “Sure,” he answers, leaning back against the couch. It’s really a nice house, though.

When Kageyama returns, he sets the glasses down on coasters on the coffee table. He sits down on the couch next to him without another word and Kei raises a curious eyebrow at him, because what is he doing?

There’s a soft tension in the air. It’s not much, but Kei can feel it. He can see it in the way Kageyama resolutely stares at the glasses of water in front of them. “King?” he asks, trying to break his concentration. “What are you doing?”

The way Kageyama glances at him, then down, then away again confuses Kei. “We’re boyfriends, right?” slips out of his lips next and Kei feels his brain malfunction.

“Boyfriends?” he asks, just to make sure. He watches as Kageyama nods once, before he looks to him and _stares_. He swears it’s one of Kageyama’s favorite things to do besides volleyball. “I think so,” he says, slowly, glancing away and to Kageyama’s knee next to him. “Do you want to be boyfriends?” His heart skips a beat and he hates it.

Kageyama’s knee twitches and Kei looks up in time to see the setter nod, “Yes.”

Something else twitches out of the corner of his eye. When Kei glances down again, it’s to see Kageyama’s fingers clenching tightly into fists next to his lap on the couch. “Then, we’re boyfriends,” he declares, watches as Kageyama’s eyes go wide. That might’ve hit a chord. “ _What?_ ” he asks, suddenly feeling very tired.

“We’re boyfriends,” Kageyama repeats quietly, like he’s in awe. “Can I try something, then?”

There are so many ways this could go: very right or very wrong. Kei isn’t sure which way this question is leading to, but he shrugs his answer anyways, “Sure?”

He doesn’t expect Kageyama to slide down the couch to sit next to him on the floor. He doesn’t expect Kageyama to lean over the slightest bit, tilting backwards some. His gaze is focused on his expression and he doesn’t expect the setter to pause a few centimeters away from his cheek. He stays there, and Kei feels immobilized.

“King?” he breathes, closing his eyes for a moment with the desire to lean in, before he opens them again to glance at him. There’s a moment of understanding, where Kei can feel something _click_ , and then he murmurs a soft, “Suddenly, you’re scared? What kind of king are you?”

The softest pair of lips touches his cheek and Kei resists the urge to groan.

Instead, he watches as Kageyama pulls back. His face is flushed pink, but his gaze is the softest he’s seen yet. Kei can only think for a moment before he’s reaching out with a hand to gently cradle Kageyama’s jaw, feel the strands of soft hair against his fingertips. Kei’s heart melts when he sees the setter immediately melt against his touch. His eyes close and he leans into his open palm.

This time, Kei whispers a soft, “Can I?” before he sees Kageyama nod.

His eyes are still closed when Kei places a soft kiss against his lips.

“I can’t believe I leave for work and little Kei gets a _boyfriend_ ,” Akiteru gushes when he comes home for the weekend. Kei wants to punch his brother into _next year_. “And it’s Tobio of all people! You’re much too good for Kei. I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Kei hates that Kageyama laughs at that, but he’s walking around his house in his comfiest-looking clothes yet, like he belongs there. It’s enough for any sane man to forgive annoying older siblings.

“I don’t even have a significant other,” Akiteru laments. Kei wants to throw his brother out of the house. His mother would be disappointed though.

“I’m sure you’ll find someone,” Kageyama attempts to say, but it comes out all stuttered. Kei has found out it’s because he and his sister don’t act the same way they do. Sure, she likes to embarrass him like any older sibling, but she’s more subtle about it.

The way Akiteru beams is the last straw. “Aw, Tobio!”

Kei finally pushes himself off of the couch to shove his brother back down the hallway and into his own room. “You’re grounded, nii-chan. Don’t leave your room until you die.”

“You’re so mean, Kei!”

But when he shuts the door closed and he finally makes it back to the end of the hallway, he’s surprised to see Tobio already standing there. He’s peering around the edge of the wall at them and Kei can’t help it. He reaches out to pull Tobio to him, tilting his head up slightly with a hand cradling his jaw and the back of his neck, and kisses him on the lips. He loves feeling the way he melts against him.

“Stop rubbing your newly found love in my face!”

“Nii-chan!”

**Author's Note:**

> please. i've finally finished. i can move on with life. i can write more tsukikage.
> 
> thank you to my beta for helping me with this... _thing_. she loves kageyama despite never watching full episodes of haikyuu ;u;
> 
> i hope everyone enjoys it! i love them.


End file.
